In a large number of plants in the processing industry, in particular in the paper industry, metal-working industry, textile industry but also the chemicals processing industry, for example in the manufacture of polymers, the manufacturing process passes through a plurality of production stages, each having associated intermediate products or output products. At least one of these intermediate products or output products often exists as rolled goods, i.e. in the form of strips or webs wound onto reels, coils or spools, which are also called “jumbo reels”, or is manufactured as flat goods in the form of sheets having a relatively large surface area, that is to say large-format sheets, for example in steel-working and/or metal-working.
A fundamental aspect of the processing and/or finishing of such reels or sheets is their sectioning according to need and their cutting to size according to need. To do this, the webs rolled onto coils or reels are usually unwound, are sectioned or segmented into smaller units according to a predefined production plan, and wound back onto suitable reels which are normally smaller to suit their sectioning.
The predefined production plan or production schedule is essentially based here on the given requirement, i.e. on the existing orders and their attendant customer-specific requirements, in particular with regard to size, volume and/or quantity and quality of the respective product. The same also applies, of course, to cutting sheets to size.
In general, this means that larger units are sectioned into smaller units, where after the sectioning or segmentation into smaller units, further processing of the respective product may then take place within the plant and/or at the customer's premises.
In practice, for cutting to size, cutting systems are used that are specially configured for the task and, for example, have suitable cutter arrangements, laser systems or waterjet cutting elements, and also reel systems or coil systems set up for this purpose.
The disadvantage with known systems and methods is that the predefined production plan, once it has been created, cannot be modified and/or adapted automatically whilst production is in progress. Sectioning of the strip, or the respective intermediate product, is planned at a time at which the intermediate product has not yet been manufactured at all, and at which there is still no information whatsoever on its quality and condition. Although manual input can be used to include some of the condition-related information and/or qualitative data in an amendment to the initial product plan, there is generally no automation of this decision process.
For example, if, as a result of the process or faults, the required quality and/or condition cannot be achieved or maintained in a strip subsection earmarked for delivery to a customer, then this strip subsection must be rejected as imperfect, i.e. it is of poorer quality or a reject.
Automated regrouping or re-sectioning of the manufactured strip, and hence automated correction of the production plan, is not possible prior to the actual cutting process.